The Sierra Maestra. 251 



total absence of a surface of undecomposed litter, and of a lower 

 vegetation. Only the season's fall of leaves — and they fall more or 

 less all the year — seems to cover the ground, without transitional 

 stages of decay and humification; at least in the month of Septem- 

 ber, the mineral soil, humus-stained, to be sure, is everywhere visi- 

 ble. The herbaceous cover is also scanty, almost absent; no mossy 

 carpet or grassy blanks are to be seen, and the botanical collector 

 finds little to do. Again in the underbrush the absence of bushlike 

 forms is noticeable; it is rather an open thicket of small trees than 

 a dense entangled mass of shrubbery as we are apt to picture. There 

 are, to be sure, varieties of conditions especially in the bottom, where 

 lumbering has been done, and again on the highest ridges, but we 

 speak of the more general aspect of the well-wooded slopes, canyons, 

 and ridges. 



Again, the addition of epihytic life distinguishes the tropic from 

 the northern forest. Orchids and Bromelias abound, and llianas and 

 vines hang from almost every large tree in long strands of varying 

 thickness. These are perhaps the most striking feature. There is 

 also a trailing grass, Divisi^ Arthrostylidium, with long wire-like, 

 tough strands (used for fishline) which adds to the danger of ex- 

 periencing Absalon's fate. These more than the density of the un- 

 dergrowth or the occasional rather effective thorns, make needful 

 the use of the sabre-like machete — by the way, the ideal weapon for 

 a forester, far superior to the axe — in order to expedite progress. 



Next, our attention may be arrested by the form of some trees, 

 like the Ceiba, and the Yagroma, although most of them do not vary 

 from those of our trees, and the curious pyramidal spines of the 

 Ayua, or the red papery bark of the Almacigo, will remind us that 

 we are not at home; otherwise the bark of many suggest our own 

 species, only the variety of smooth-barked trees is greater and con- 

 fusing. 



Finally, the density of the forest is different. Contrary to the 

 usual conception of a dark gloomy tropical forest interior, we find 

 here a pleasant half-shade and, indeed, when the vertical rays of the 

 noonday sun pour down, a little more shade would be welcome. This 

 is due to the manner of distribution of sizes. 



While the whole country makes the appearance of being covered 

 by a dense stand of timber, closer investigation shows that the trees 

 of size are, indeed, relatively few, mostly broad-crowned and 

 branchy, while the bulk is undergrowth or a second low tier. This 



